Exclusive: Ministers 'water down' National Roads Fund plans

06/12/2016 Highways Reporters

The Government does not intend to legislate to create the National Roads Fund from 2020, Transport Network understands, in what some say is a watering down of the plans.

Senior Whitehall sources suggested the original idea was to legislate, and this retreat could suggest a weakening of the commitment in the same way the new government backtracked on making the National Infrastructure Commission a statutory body.

In response to questions from Transport Network,both Department for Transport officials and Transport Minister Andrew Jones declined to state whether the fund - which would be created through hypothecating vehicle excise duty (VED) - would be guaranteed under legislation.

However a DfT spokesman said there was no need to legislate and told Transport Network that the focus was on delivering the fund in the most efficient way.

Mr Jones said: "We have no intention of making any changes in our funding arrangements. The general principle of giving more clarity on [Highways England] funding is an absolute given and the hypothecation of the roads fund is a part of that."